Woman charged after nurse reports malnourished infant

Three children were removed from a Faulkner County home by the Department of Human Services following an investigation regarding an allegedly malnourished infant.

According to felony information filed by Prosecutor Cody Hiland on Tuesday, Serina Marie Brock, 20, of Conway “did unlawfully and feloniously ... engage in conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to a minor.”

Brock was taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon and cited for first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a Class D felony, following the completion of the investigation by DHS.

Deputies with the Faulkner County Sheriff's office were dispatched on Oct. 15 to Central Arkansas Pediatrics on Dave Ward Drive after a nurse practitioner expressed “ongoing concerns” for a 5-month-old infant considered “well under normal weight” for his age.

According to a report, the nurse practitioner told deputies she had discussed concerns regarding the infant’s welfare with Brock on a number of occasions and had instructed her to bring the infant to the clinic for a weekly follow-up appointment on Sept. 14, but Brock did not show up, even after being advised by clinic personnel that a failure to comply would require the reporting of the incident to the child abuse hotline.

The nurse said when Brock was again contacted to bring the child to the clinic, she reportedly hung up on the caller and then refused to answer further calls.

Brock eventually gave verbal consent for a grandmother to bring the child in for evaluation.

When the concerned grandmother returned the child to the clinic on Oct. 15, he weighed 9 pounds, 12 ounces — 7 pounds less than the typical weight of a baby of his age and height, according to medical staff.

Following the appointment, clinicians contacted DHS investigators, who removed the baby and two other children from Brock’s home pending the outcome of an investigation.

A first appearance has not been set in the case. Brock will appear in Faulkner County Circuit Court before Judge Charles E. Clawson.

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Didn't think politics would be brought into the discussion so quickly. But since you mentioned Obamacare, which of course is not yet fully in place, the infant mortality rate in industrialized countries with national health care is much better than it is in the US. For instance, the NHS in England follows up on all births with home health nurse visits. There the infant mortality rate is 4.56 per 1000 live births. The US figure is 5.98. But saving those babies is just socialism, isn't it?

DISCLAIMER: This post was brought to you by CACCA (Conway Anonymous Cranky Clownhats Association). Any facts or opinions in this post are likely sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, an obscure reference, or totally incorrect (unless quoting scripture).

DISCLAIMER: This post was brought to you by CACCA (Conway Anonymous Cranky Clownhats Association). Any facts or opinions in this post are likely sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, an obscure reference, or totally incorrect (unless quoting scripture).

Certainly hope the children receive the care they need. As buzz said.. 3 kids by age 20 is pretty rough and since I see no mention of a father stepping up to prevent any of the children from going to DHS I would assume he (or they) arent in the picture. Can be very various reasons this happened. Noticed I said reasons, not excuses. There is no excuse for children to be treated like that. Poverty,lack of education, mental defect..etc.. There is no mention of the condition of the other children so I wonder what the full situation is. Hopefully the children will be cared for, the Mom will get what ever treatment, education or punishment our system decides is needed and everyone will be restored. True, she dug a hole... But she didnt dig it alone.

DISCLAIMER: This post was brought to you by CACCA (Conway Anonymous Cranky Clownhats Association). Any facts or opinions in this post are likely sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, an obscure reference, or totally incorrect (unless quoting scripture).